2.1
Nonequilibrium statistical mechanics of climate variability
Jeffrey B. Weiss, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
The variability of climate features has significant human impacts but
is difficult to model and predict. Recent theoretical developments in
nonequilibrium statistical mechanics cover a class of simple stochastic
models that are often used for climate phenomena. The theory for a specific
coarse-grained entropy production is
developed for simple stochastic climate models and applied to observed
tropical sea surface temperatures (SST). The results show that
tropical SST variability is approximately consistent with fluctuations about a
nonequilibrium steady-state. The presence of fluctuations with
negative entropy production indicates that tropical
SST dynamics can, on a seasonal timescale, be considered as small and
fast in a thermodynamic sense. This work demonstrates that
nonequilibrium statistical mechanics can address climate-scale
phenomena and suggests that other climate phenomena could be similarly
addressed by nonequilibrium statistical mechanics.
Session 2, Atmospheric and Oceanic Fluid Dynamics Theory I
Monday, 8 June 2009, 10:20 AM-12:20 PM, Pinnacle BC
Next paper